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81 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Scream" not!, March 27, 2001
This review is from: The Spiral Staircase (DVD)
Robert Siodmak's "The Spiral Staircase" is one of my all-time favorite thrillers. It was adapted from the book "Some Must Watch" by the prolific Ethel Lina White. 2 of White's books had been made into films by Alfred Hitchcock. "The Wheel Spins" became "The Lady Vanishes", and "Before the Fact" became "Suspicion". "The Spiral Staircase" deals with a pretty creepy premise: An unknown killer has been murdering women with "afflictions". (One victim was disfigured, another feeble-minded, another lame). Helen, a young mute servant girl working in a gloomy old mansion, is the killer's next intended victim. The killer is in the house with her, but who is it? Siodmak, a master of film noir, holds your attention for approximately 85 minutes, and never lets go. All of the classic elements are here: Old gloomy house, thunderstorm, chiaroscuro lighting, eerie musical score, colorful performances. The sets, by the way, are leftovers from Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons", the music score by Roy Webb, who had composed other goose-pimplers such as "The Cat People", "I Walked With a Zombie", "The Body Snatcher" and Hitchcock's "Notorious". Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman on the Theremin is featured on this score, providing added goosebumps. And the cast! Pretty Dorothy McGuire is excellent as the endangered Helen, in a house peopled by the likes of the very grand Ethel Barrymore, the wooden George Brent, marvelous character actors Elsa Lanchester, Rhys Williams and Sara Allgood, handsome Kent Smith and Gordon Oliver, and lovely Rhonda Fleming. Ellen Corby is in the film too, in a bit part-watch for her! Robert Siodmak was an excellent "B" movie director, having made masterpieces on relatively small budgets. His other films include "The Killers", "Phantom Lady", "Son of Dracula", the camp classic "Cobra Woman", "Criss Cross", and the Burt Lancaster romp "The Crimson Pirate". So, in this age of over-inflated budgets, it's a wonder and honor to see these well-made films from an era of almost non-existent special effects, modest budgets, and great actors. The picture and sound quality on this DVD are excellent-very clean and crisp, so you can really appreciate the gloomy Victorian sets and eerie musical score. There are practically no extras on the disc-just the theatrical trailer, but who's complaining? So, lock your doors and windows, because you never know who's watching you, and maybe even look under the bed, just to be on the safe side, and watch "The Spiral Staircase"-you will be thoroughly, enjoyably chilled!
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
old fashioned thriller is eerie, tense and well acted., June 18, 2000
This review is from: The Spiral Staircase (DVD)
One of the most creepy and effective thrillers from the immediate post war era. The movie is in many respects a precursor to modern serial killer/stalker movies and used scare tactics that still remain in use more than 50 years later. The focus of the film is on a household where a cranky old grandmother is bedridden and waiting to die, being looked after by a mute nurse who is the serial killers obvious next target as he clearly goes after victims with afflictions in his attempt to restore perfection and beauty to a tainted world. The director manages to conjure up an effective feeling of dread and claustrophobia - this is a long, long way from William Castle's amiable ghost frolic The House on Haunted Hill which played more like a farce than a thriller. The film is a little reminiscent of another classic serial killer outing made much later in England, Peeping Tom and was clearly way ahead of its time when it came out in 1946. The cast headed by Dorothy McGuire and George Brent but watch out especially for one of the screen's immortal icons, Elsa Lanchester who will forever be remembered as The Bride of Frankenstein. The Spiral Staircase is a superior thriller, may be a touch over wrought by today's standards, but effective, tense and fairly creepy. Perhaps, along with M, the great great granddaddy of the modern serial killer thriller. Far superior to the horrid remake that was dished up in 1975.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most suspenseful movies I have ever seen., July 25, 2000
When I first saw this movie at the videostore, I bypassed it. When I caught it on AMC, I realized how excellent the movie really was. The movie was spine tingling and hair raising as it also was bone chilling. The movie was well plotted and left you on the edge of your seat. A strangler of women are leaving a trail of bodies in his path. A man is determined to stop this. The strangler has chosen his next victim, a girl who has not spoken a single word. She begins to feel eyes watching her and someone stalking her. She tries to tell people, but they do not believe her. As the days go by, one fateful night brings the girl face to face with the heartless murderer. She searches for help in the house, but there is no one in the house to help her. She realized that she was alone in the house with a killer, and she could not scream for help. As the chase begins, you can't turn the station until the shocking ending. This movie contained all the elements needed to make a good film. Riveting performances as well as murder and suspense. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good spine tingling thriller.
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